Box Office: 007 Money and 2021's Highest Grossers

All you need to know about this very strange ecosystem shift in moviegoing is that an Icelandic language film (Lamb) made the overall top 10 despite having a per screen average of just $1,715. These are odd times we're living in when only blockbusters are making bank and even those aren't operating at close to full strength. There used to be 25-30 movies in wide release at any given time but there were literally only 8 in release this weekend here in the US. One wonders how the economics will all play in the future decade since streaming isn't as profitable as the traditional theatrical market and films have always been budgeted for pre-COVID realities. Will we see production values decrease in the next decade as Hollywood starts trying to make things on the cheap or just much higher subscription prices for streaming services?  What did you see this past week/weekend? More notes are after the jump.

Weekend Box Office October 8th-10th 🔺 = new or expanding / ★ = recommended
WIDE RELEASE	PLATFORM TITLES
No Time To Die	Lamb
1 NO TIME TO DIE 🔺  $56 Deborah's Review	1 LAMB 🔺 $1.0 in 583 theaters Cannes Capsule
2  VENOM LET THERE BE CARNAGE  $32 (cum. $141.6)	2 THE JESUS MUSIC [DOC] $150K in 270 theaters (cum. $857k)...

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Dune, review: when a dream comes true

by Elisa Giudici

Dreams are messages from the deep. This line from Denis Villeneuve's adaptation of Frank Herbert's SF novel perfectly describes the seductive dangerous power of dream we've cherished for a very long time begin to come true. Villeneuve is one of many directors of a generation that grew up reading Frank Herbert visionary sci-fi novels about messianic leadership and predestination, colonization and contamination of an alien world and culture, and the dangers of mixing politics and religion (to name only a few of the main themes of the Dune novels).

He was well aware of how insidious it can be to work on something that's long been on the back of your mind and your abmition for decades. "I talked for hours with Hans Zimmer about the possibility (a long time dream for both of us), trying to understand if it wasn't advisable to let our dream remain in our heads"...

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What did you see this week?

Been back to the movie theaters yet? We've been going regularly again (huzzah!) but this week we skipped the new releases and took in a special one-night screening of The Graduate (1967) for the Movies with MZS at IFC Center. Next month he's showing Body Heat (1981) which is so perfect (you know we're fans) so if you're in NYC and you've never seen it now is your chance to see Kathleen Turner's jaw-dropping debut on the big screen.

Anyway. Here is the chart. What did you see this past week/weekend?

Weekend Box Office July 16th-18th 🔺 = new or expanding / ★ = recommended
WIDE RELEASE	PLATFORM TITLES
Black Widow	Pig

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Links: Korean Actors, Fun Director Interviews, etc...

• Observer a strong piece on the pros and con for both movie theaters and streaming at this juncture
• Variety has a piece up asking if the $60 million Black Widow made on premiere streaming (at $30 a pop) is good or not. And why is Disney being "transparent" about something so vague and impossible to confirm? 
• The Actor is Present The Korean Film Council has a huge guide to current Korean actors (200 of them!) so I'd check it out if you're into Korean cinema or television

More after the jump including Zola, Catherine Zeta Jones...

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The box office is open again. What did you see this week?

Been back to the movie theaters yet? We're so thrilled to be able to post a full top ten weekend box office report again. It's been ages since there were enough theaters open and movies in play. We've just barely gotten there of course. But the box office results to date (especially overseas) with the world starting to turn again suggest that Disney and Warner Bros have left a lot of money on the table by making things available to stream simultaneously or ONLY; they're betting their entire futures on streaming. Which might be wise but some decisions still feel foolhardy especially the decision to not release Pixar's Luca in theaters, given that it's already winning raves and might have been a perfect summertime bet in airconditioned theaters since it's a summertime tale and Pixar movies generally make hundreds of millions in movie theaters. Strange decision especially since they gave Raya the traditional release! When viewed in broader context of what gets a theatrical release versus what doesn't it's like pissing directly on Pixar when something like Dreamworks Spirit Untamed gets a theatrical release and Luca doesn't. Ugh.

Anyway. Here is the chart. What did you see this past week/weekend?

Weekend Box Office June 4th-6th 🔺 = new or expanding / ★ = recommended
WIDE RELEASE	PLATFORM TITLES
The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It	Undine

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